John Nash Column -- Knights not to be forgotten

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Chris Evans knows a thing or two about basketball and he's definitely enjoying what he's seeing out of the Stamford Black Knights basketball team this season.

He's not even talking about his own undefeated boys team. He's talking about the 11-1 Stamford girls.

That's right, hoop fans, while the Stamford and Trinity Catholic boys programs have marched through headline-grabbing undefeated openings to their respective seasons -- at least until Wednesday night's big matchup between the two schools when one of them will chalk up a loss -- the Black Knights girls are also putting together a pretty special season of their own.

Head coach Curtis Tinnin's team is 11-1 with 11 straight victories after a season-opening loss to Trumbull and, while Fairfield Warde is still hanging onto to the "favorite" title in the FCIAC, Stamford is the team drawing the next highest amount of attention.

"They literally are a good team," Evans opined about his school's other successful basketball team. "They play together and have a balanced attack. They've got an inside presence and they've got great leadership from those seniors."

Those seniors -- Fiona O'Dwyer, Katie Pape, Lauren Beluk and Theresa Britt -- are playing key roles in the Black Knights surge to the upper echelon of the FCIAC ranks; a place previously reserved for other city schools like three-time defending champ Trinity Catholic and four-time consecutive runner-up Westhill.

In addition to leadership, each brings something vital to the Stamford hoop scene.

O'Dwyer has gone from just another player to the best kept secret in the FCIAC to a known commodity that teams are geared up to stop. Most can't.

Beluk is a shooter and ball-handler while Pape is an athlete who does so many of the small things (plays defense, grabs a few rebounds, scores some points, hustles all over) that it adds up to a big contribution.

And Britt is the kind of player who might fly under the radar, but can hurt you from anywhere on the court when you least expect it.

Evans and Beluk talk basketball every day at school and he appreciates the mindset the girls squad is carrying with it.

"Those seniors don't care how they do (individually)," Evans said. "They're just happy to be winning, you know? I think it's a big part of their team."

There are also two key junior role players in Jasmine Jones and Kim Mannarino, both of whom play in the shadow of O'Dwyer but seem to keep coming up with a key rebound, or key point, during key times for the Knights.

And, of course, we can't forget the youth -- the future of the program.

When sophomore Ebony Razor and freshman Kelsey Cognetta enter the game, you can almost feel the energy level of the Stamford team rise.

They might make a mistake or two because they're young, but the good things they do will oftentimes off-set that.

Plus, they're learning from a good group of leaders who rose through the ranks in a far different fashion.

Truth is, you could almost see this coming.

There were too many talented athletes coming up through the Stamford girls program and when Tinnin returned after a hiatus for personal reasons, the Black Knights started playing with pride again.

They went from a 3-17 team in 2007 to an 11-10 squad last season, qualifying for the state tournament. The team grew through a series of bumps and bruises, but learned how to win -- something they're putting to good use this season.

Seven games remain after Wednesday's intra-city showdown with Trinity Catholic. St. Joseph, Fairfield Warde and Westhill all still dot the schedule.

But, regardless, the Stamford girls are players again in both the city, league and state level.

Evans, meanwhile, is proud to call the girls program an equal partner with boys program in this very special Stamford High School basketball season.

"We're always proud of our program," he said. "We knew we were better and now we're winning and everybody's happy. That's a great feeling, whether it's the girls or the boys, it doesn't matter. I think it looks good to have a great basketball program."

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John Nash is The Stamford Times sports editor. He can be reached at 354-1051 or by e-mail at johnnash@thestamfordtimes.com.